Purnia is the 56th largest Hindi speaking city of India with a total population of 0.28 million. Major employment in Purnia district is in Jute, Agriculture, Poultry and Dairy industry. Purnia has 83% Agriculture workers, 15% Industry and government workers and 2% Household workers. Purnia is a good agricultural belt because of the availability of fertile alluvial soil. Major rivers of Purnia district are Kosi and Mahananda. Major crops of Purnia district are paddy, potatoes, wheat, khesari, chickpeas, chili peppers, maize, lentils, arhar dal, barley, sugarcane, tobacco, makhana, mung beans, and jute. The reference of Purnia district is mentioned in Mahabharata which takes it date back to the Mahabharata period. The oldest temple of Purnia is Mata Puran Devi temple. During Mughal rule Purnia was an outlying military province. Its revenue was mostly spent on protecting its borders against tribes from the north and east. Its local governor raised a rebellion against Siraj ud-Daulah in 1757, after the capture of Calcutta. In 1765, along with the rest of Bengal, the district became a British possession. According to the local stories the name Purnia is a combination of two words “Purna” (Complete) “Aranya” (Jungle) which stands for "complete jungle", and hence the name Purnia. The modern district of Purnia was formed by the East India Company on 14 February 1770 which makes it Indias one of the oldest constituted district.
